A Redneck and a Tomboy
by SummerRain626
Summary: After Daryl was shot by Dwight, he was left there to die. However, a teenage girl named Nicole finds him. The two of them spend a lot of time together and become very close. However Nikki is kind of strange and Daryl discovers a secret about her.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead!**

Chapter 1

Daryl awoke in a daze; he was in a room that he didn't recognize. He had no idea where he was or how much time had past. What he did know though was he was in pain. He looked around and did not see anyone. However, his shoulder(where he got shot) was patched up, and he had an IV attached to his arm? That meant someone was here. He slowly got up and took the IV out of his arm. Daryl whistled to see if anyone from the group responded, but no one did. He wasn't really wasn't thinking clearly. He did just wake up from a coma. Suddenly, Daryl heard footsteps. They were getting louder, coming in his direction. Daryl quickly looked around for a weapon; anything that could help him. There was a tray on the bedside table. It was the only thing there, he quickly grabbed it and readied himself. The door opened and Daryl swung the tray before even looking to see who it was, hurting his shoulder.

It was a girl that opened the door. "Whoa!" She jumped out of the way just missing the tray. "Who are you! Why am I here?" Daryl yelled.

"I-it's okay! I brought you here." She said.

"Why?" Daryl said still yelling.

""W-well, you would have…died if I didn't." The girl looked at Daryl terrified.

He noticed this and thought it was good.

"My name is Nikki. I found you laying on the ground in the woods. Someone had shot you. I didn't see who though."

Daryl didn't say anything he just glared at Nikki. He doesn't know her, which means he doesn't trust her. When he didn't speak, Nikki continued, "You should lay back down. I don't think your strong enough yet to move around a lot." Daryl continued to glare at Nikki, then he finally said, "I'm fine."

"O-okay. Well, you're probably hungry. I was just about to make something to eat after I checked on you. Oh! here!" Nikki held out a bottle of water and reached into her pocket for two Aleve, handing both of them to Daryl. He didn't take them right away.

"Come on, it's for your pain. And don't even try to tell me you're not thirsty."

Daryl gave in. He practically drank the whole bottle then took the pills like Nikki said.

Nikki smiled and then said, "I'll call you when dinner is ready. You should just relax for a bit." Nikki walked away but then came back. "Oh yeah. I washed your clothes. I'll go get them for you." Daryl looked down and just now noticed his appearance. He was naked except for his boxers. "Did she really undress me?" He thought. He looked up at Nikki a little shocked then quickly tried to cover himself with the blanket. Nikki grinned while walking away and thinking, "Aw he's shy."

About ten minutes later, Nikki came back into the room with Daryl's clothes. She set his shoes down on the floor and his clothes on the bed.

"I did the best I could with the vest. That tear was already there, I swear."

"Yeah I know. It's alright."

"I…also fixed the holes in your jacket."

Daryl was a little surprised. She seemed too young to know how to sew.

"Um…thanks." He said.

"No problem!" She said.

"Hey, where's my crossbow?"

Nikki looked at Daryl confused. "What crossbow?"

 _Damn it!_ Daryl thought. _Dwight must have taken it again._

"Uh nothin." Daryl said.

She smiled at him real big and then said, "Okay! Well, you probably want to shower before you get dressed. Everything's already in there for you, just be careful of your bandage." There was a slight awkward pause and then Nikki said, "Oh, Sorry! I should probably get out of your way! Come out whenever you're done. Dinner should be ready by then. Just call me if you need anything!" She said all of that too quickly. With that said, Nikki left the room closing the door behind her.

Daryl was left to his thoughts. Who is this girl and why is she so…normal? So nice and sweet? She couldn't have possibly done all of this herself, could she? Was this young girl really alone? I mean…she brought him back here and fixed his wound. She's just a teenager. Daryl had so many questions. He had to find out more about her…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daryl finished his shower and quickly got dressed. Nikki was dancing around the table as she was putting out the food. She gasped when she saw Daryl standing in the doorway watching her. She smiled and told him to sit down. Daryl wondered how she could be so happy at times likes this.

"You can help yourself. There's pork, mac 'n' cheese, and corn on the cob."

Daryl took some of everything and said, "How'd you get this?"

"What? The pork? One of the pigs got hurt so I just put him out if his misery a few days ago." She said nonchalantly. Daryl just shrugged and continued eating. He gobbled most of his food. He was starving. Nikki noticed and chuckled to herself. "You can have as much as you want." She smiled. Daryl looked up at her but didn't say anything just continued eating, and put some more food on his plate. "You shouldn't eat so fast, you could get sick." Nikki stated.

"Huh?" Replied Daryl looking up at her with a mouthful of food.

"I just said you could get sick if you eat too fast."

"Oh." Was all Daryl said.

He was already done and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Nikki still had a plateful of food. She eats slow. Daryl realized this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions. He glanced around the place. "It just you here?" He asked.

"Yup. It's been that way since…since everything happened." Nikki hesitated.

Daryl wasn't satisfied. "Really? You sure about that?"

Nikki looked at him and blinked. "Yes, sir. What's that supposed to mean?"

"How old are anyway?" Daryl said ignoring her question. "And don't call me sir."

"Oh okay. Um…I just turned nineteen. I've been keeping track of the days ever since the start." Although she was nineteen, she acted much younger at times.

"You look younger than nineteen." Daryl said.

"Well I am. I'm just small." She said nervously.

Daryl thought for a moment before saying, "So you're telling me that you took care of this all by yourself?" He pointed at his gunshot wound.

Nikki shrugged. "My mom was a nurse. She taught me some stuff."

Daryl was a little confused and didn't know what to say. Nikki broke the silence by saying, "Yeah, you lost a lot of blood, by the way. I had to give you some of mine. I was afraid you weren't going to wake up." Then, Daryl suddenly realized something.

"How long have I been here?" He asked a little panicked.

"Well, let's see." Nikki got up from the table and looked at her "calendar." "It's going on two weeks."

"Two weeks!" Daryl thought. "I need to get back to Alexandria." Daryl got up quickly and said, "I need to get out of here."

"What? No you can't!" Nikki said. Daryl stopped and looked at her for a minute then started again. "I got somewhere to be."

He started to gather his things when he felt Nikki grab his arm. "What the hell?" He thought.

"You can't! You're too weak!" Nikki cried. "You won't even make it down the street!"

"I don't have time for this!" Daryl said pulling his arm out her grasp.

She ran in front of him. "Please! You can't! Just stay here with me until you're better! Please! Just until you're better!" Nikki cried. Daryl was taken aback by how frantic she was. He thought for a moment and sighed. Something about her made him stay. Plus, he kind of did owe her.

"Fine. But just for a couple of days."

Nikki smiled and grabbed Daryl's hand. The two walked into the sitting room. She gestured for him to sit down on the couch. He did. She walked into the kitchen and came back with two cupcakes, she sat down while handing one to Daryl.

"Uh thanks." He squinted. "What is this place anyway?"

"We're underground. It has it's own power source. Occasionally I have to crawl through that vent over there to reset it." Daryl didn't say anything.

"My grandpa built it under our farmhouse. He was a conspiracy theorist and thought it would come in handy incase anything ever happened. Who would have known the old fool was right." Nikki rolled her eyes and laughed. Daryl half grinned but didn't let her see.

They made small talk and ate their cupcakes. Suddenly, Nikki realized something. "You know what I just realized?" She asked.

"What?"

"You haven't even told me your name yet." She giggled.

He just looked at her for a moment. "Daryl." He said. She laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"I used to have a friend named, Daryl. He was an asshole." She grinned widely.

"Your friend and I have that in common." Daryl said. Nikki laughed. She liked Daryl immediately.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. I brought your bike back as well. It's in the shed."

Daryl squinted at her. "What?"

"It's in the shed. Come on, I'll show you!"

Nikki led Daryl up the stairs and out door, into the yard. It was the first time he's been outside since he was shot. He looked around. There was a corn field and some land beside it where some of the cattle were roaming. There was a barn and a shed next to it. He looked behind him where they came out from and noticed the huge farmhouse. Daryl wondered how Nikki managed to keep this place alive all by herself.

She led him into the shed where he saw his bike. "How'd you know this was my bike?"

"I found it under some tree branches, and you were the only one in the woods at the time. Plus, I could tell you were a biker from your clothes." She smiled that big smile again. "My uncle rode bikes too, and he had similar attire. You kind of remind me of him, but you're not as mean."

"Hmm." Daryl thought for a minute. "Where is your uncle?"

Nikki bit her lip. "He's dead." She said nervously.

Daryl suddenly felt bad for asking. "Sorry." He said.

"It's okay. I don't miss him. He wasn't the nicest person." She said and shivered.

There was an awkward silence then Nikki said, "Hey! Were you in a biker gang?" She grinned up at him.

Daryl stared at her. "Yeah. So you better watch out." He joked. Nikki laughed.

"I was just wondering because of the vest. My uncle had a vest too…. and he was." She mumbled the last part, Daryl almost didn't hear it. Nikki looked down and said, "Like I said, he wasn't the nicest person." She tapped her fingers together nervously and walked out of the shed. Daryl looked around and noticed all the weapons hanging on the wall in front of him. There were some guns and knives and some tools for farming. As he turned around to leave, he noticed some straps and whips hanging from the wall behind him. It gave him a strange feeling.

 **Hey everyone! This is my first story in a long time! I know I haven't updated any new stories for a while, but I really hope to stick with this one. I have a bad habit of not finishing my stories :/ I want to continue this one though! Hope you like it! Please review! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nikki was waiting outside the shed to lock it when Daryl came out.

"How'd you get my bike back here?" He asked.

"The same way I got _you_ back here. I put it in my truck."

"I thought maybe you rode it." He joked.

"No. I would have though. My friends and I used to ride dirt bikes all the time before this. My uncle wouldn't let me ride his motorcycle, I always wanted to though."

Daryl was dumbfounded. He was just kidding, but she shut him up.

"I still can't believe you took care of me yourself." He said.

"Well, I did. It wasn't all that bad. The hardest part was getting you in and out of the truck." She glanced at him. "You're heavier than you look."

Daryl cocked an eyebrow.

"I know what you're thinking. I might be small, but I'm stronger than I look."

Daryl put his hands up in defeat. "Okay." He said.

As they got back inside, Daryl just looked at Nikki. It was the first time he really _looked_ at her. She was very small, the top of her head just came to his shoulder. She was also very thin. She had short brown hair, almost making her look like a boy. She also looked kind of…sickly. However, she was cute. She had on leggings and a sweater that was obviously too big for her. It was cold outside though.

Once they were inside, Nikki said to Daryl, "I should probably change your bandage."

Daryl just stared at her and said, "I'll do it myself."

"You can't. It's in an odd angle and you don't even know how." Before Daryl could speak, Nikki grabbed his hand and led him back into the room he woke up in. She gestured for him to sit down and he sat down on the end of the bed. As Nikki was gathering the supplies, she looked at Daryl just sitting there.

"Um…you're going to have to take your shirt off." She said.

Daryl looked annoyed but did what Nikki said. Nikki brought over the supplies to where Daryl was. She carefully took the old bandage off his wound, and wiped the area with soap and water. Then she put some of the dressing on the new bandage.

"If you put the dressing on the bandage instead of directly on the wound, it hurts less." Nikki stated. Daryl said nothing, just looked forward.

"Just let me know if I hurt you." She continued to put the bandage on his wound, being very gentle. Daryl was surprised at how gentle she was. She was good at what she does. They could use someone like her back at Alexandria. Perhaps he could convince her to come back with him when he leaves. Daryl suddenly winced a little when she finished putting the bandage on. Nikki noticed and rubbed his back.

"It's okay. I'm done now."

"Thanks." Was all Daryl said.

Nikki walked over to the table where there was a jar of lollipops. She grabbed one and handed it to Daryl as she smiled. He just looked at it and blinked.

"You were a good boy so you get a lollipop." She said and giggled.

Daryl had to smirk. She was just too cute. It was hard not to like her.

Later that day, Nikki was in the kitchen making a snack; she told Daryl to go relax in the sitting room. She came into the room a little later with two small bowls. She handed one to Daryl and sat down. She started eating her's already. Daryl stared at his unsure of what to say. "I hope you don't mind vanilla. I didn't have any cocoa to make chocolate." Said Nikki. Daryl was confused again.

"This is ice cream?" He finally said.

Nikki giggled and said, "Yeah! What are you from Mars? What did you think it was?" She rolled her eyes at him. He glared at her and said, "I'm just surprised, is all. How do you have ice cream?"

"I made it." Nikki shrugged.

"You waste your resources on cupcakes and ice cream? And you said _I'm_ from Mars." That struck a nerve that Daryl didn't know little Nikki had.

"Seriously? Why wouldn't I?" She snapped. Daryl was a little taken aback by her sudden outburst of anger. When he didn't respond, she spoke, "Look, its just been me here for a long time. I have a lot food here and I don't eat much so I try to do fun things! What's wrong with that?"

Daryl was surprised that she raised her voice at him and he didn't like it.

"Alright. I just…" He trailed off. Nikki looked at him wide eyed waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"Its just what?" She said.

"Nothin. Sorry, thanks for this." Daryl said.

They sat in silence for a while and ate their ice cream. Daryl still couldn't believe that that sweet little girl got so angry all of a sudden, and over nothing. Still, Nikki was slightly offended by what Daryl said. Neither if them spoke for the remainder of the time it took them to finish their ice cream. When they were done, Nikki took the bowls into the kitchen to wash them. When she didn't come back, Daryl knew it was because she was mad. He didn't think he did anything wrong, but he figured he should apologize anyway. I mean…she did save his life and all, and up until now she was super nice to him. Daryl got up and walked into the kitchen. He found Nikki standing there not really doing anything. Her back was to him and she was leaning against the counter.

"Hey." He said. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I'm just not used to this kind of stuff."

Nikki sighed and looked up at Daryl. "No. It's fine. I just don't like when people make me sound stupid. It makes me really mad." She smiled that big smile. Daryl was relieved that she was back.

Later that night, the two were in the sitting room talking and didn't realize how late it got. Nikki noticed the time and said, "We should probably go to bed now." She half laughed.

"Oh yeah, wow." Daryl realized the time as well.

"You can have the bed." Nikki said.

Daryl looked around. "Where's your bed?"

Nikki laughed and said, "The one you were in."

"Where'd you sleep then?"

"I didn't really. I had to watch you incase something happened." Nikki said while making her bed on the couch.

Daryl was annoyed. "You better get some rest then. You need to sleep. You can have the bed. I'll sleep out here on the couch."

"No! You're all hurt still! I'm fine out here." She huffed.

Daryl had to admit it would be nice to sleep on a nice bed with his shoulder and all.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Of course! I insist." Nikki grinned. "And besides, you're the guest."

"Alright." Daryl shrugged.

Nikki finished making her bed and came over to Daryl and hugged him. "Goodnight!" She said. He was so surprised that he jumped a little. He just patted her head and said, "Yeah, goodnight."

Daryl was awakened by the sound of whimpering. He ignored it at first, but then it became constant and grew louder. He got up to see what was going on. He walked into the sitting room where Nikki was sleeping. It was her that was whimpering. It soon turned into cries. Daryl whispered, "You okay?" There was no response. He went over to her and shook her a little. "Nikki, you okay? Why are you cryin?" She didn't respond, but continued to cry. Daryl put his hand on her shoulder and hushed her. "Hey, it's okay." He said. "What's the matter?" He rubbed her back a little. Daryl didn't understand why her crying bothered him so much; they just met. He listened as her cries turned into soft breathing. "Nikki?" Daryl said. She didn't respond again. Daryl realized that she was asleep the whole time. She was crying in her sleep? Who does that? He had never heard of that before, but she stopped so he went back to bed. He laid there and wondered what she was crying about.

 **This chapter was kind of slow, but they will get more interesting! I promise! :D Please review! I want to hear your feedback!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nikki woke up early the next morning. She decided to make eggs for breakfast for Daryl, even though she didn't really feel like it. She was in one of her moods today. Nikki cracked an egg into a bowl and another. The second one, however, was rotten. "Damn!" She said out loud. Now she had to throw away both of them. She got two more eggs and cracked them into a bowl. She beat the eggs and then realized she didn't grease the pan or even turn on the stove yet. "Oh come on!" She whined. Clearly annoyed she sprayed the pan and then turned the stove on. When it was ready she went to dump the eggs into the pan, but tripped causing the eggs to spill out of the bowl and all over the counter. That was it. She had to freak out. Nikki threw the bowl at the wall and yelled, "Son of a bitch!" Then she threw the pan into the sink. Daryl, hearing the commotion, got up to see what happened. He stood in the doorway and saw the slight mess. Nikki and Daryl locked eyes. "What?" She said annoyed. "What happened?" He asked.

"I was trying to make breakfast and got angry. Everything's fine." She stomped out of the room and into the bedroom. "I'm gonna take a shower, don't come in here."

Daryl, obviously confused, went into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He wiped off the counter where the eggs had been and picked up the shattered pieces of the bowl. Then he continued to make himself eggs. He wondered if he should make some for Nikki too but then just decided not to.

Nikki came out of the room several minutes later showered and dressed in black jeans and a hoodie. She didn't even acknowledge Daryl's existence. She took her dirty clothes down the stairs to the laundry room. When she came back up, she folded up her blankets and put them in a pile on the floor beside the couch. Daryl watched her the whole time. Her expression was angered; she didn't look at all like the happy-go-lucky Nikki that he met yesterday. "Are you okay?" Daryl finally asked.

"What?" Nikki looked at him and snapped.

"You alright?" He said again.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She answered too quickly.

Daryl really didn't know what to say so he just said, "So what are we doing today."

Nikki looked at Daryl as if he were an idiot. " _I'm_ going outside to work on _my_ farm. I don't care what you do." Daryl did not like the way she was acting today.

"Ya need some help?" Daryl tried.

"I don't _need_ anything. But whatever."

"Hey, what's with the attitude?" Daryl roughly asked.

"What attitude? This is how I always am. You don't know me!" Nikki snapped again.

Nikki was right. Daryl really didn't know her, but she sure was acting different from yesterday. "I don't know what you're problem is, but ya don't need to be such a little smart ass."

Nikki gave Daryl a dirty look. "Shut up asshole! You ain't my fucking dad! And even if you were, I can talk how ever I want!"

Daryl was surprised at what she just said. "Watch your mouth! Don't you call _me_ an asshole! You're the one all yelling fer no reason!"

"Fuck you!" Nikki said.

"You little brat! Ya know what I got for being a smart ass when I was a kid? A whippin! That's what you need!" Daryl spat.

Nikki's eyes widened a little and she ran outside into the shed.

Daryl was left to his thoughts after that. What had gotten into her? She was so nice and sweet yesterday, but today she was a little monster. It was like she was a completely different person. He didn't understand her at all. He thought about the argument they just had. Did he really just threaten to spank a girl he barely knew? She's too old to be spanked; he had to know that, but she just made him so mad. He thought about just leaving, but he couldn't do that to her. He wanted to make it up to her somehow for taking good care of him.

It had been several hours since Daryl and Nikki's little dispute. Nikki was still in the shed doing God know's what, while Daryl was left alone in her house all day. There wasn't much to do inside. It was a small room. However, he did go down the stairs; there was a little room that was obviously the laundry room. Then there were shelves lined with tons of food. Nikki wasn't lying when she said there was a lot of food here. Then, in the back, there was an empty room. He guessed it was used for storage.

Later when it was pitch black outside, Nikki slowly and nervously made her way back into the house. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying all night. When she stepped into the room she startled Daryl because he didn't notice her right away. "You come to yell some more?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop it, before he noticed her appearance. She started to sob all over again.

"I-I'm ss-sorrry about what I said t-to you." She sniffled.

Daryl was once again surprised by her. "Why don't ya come and sit down." She walked over and sat down next to him on the couch. She didn't make eye contact just continued to sob. After she calmed down a little, she finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I just get into these moods sometimes. I think I'm bi-polar. My mom was." She used the back of her hand to wipe her nose. "I didn't mean to take it out on you, I really didn't." Nikki pleaded.

"It's alright." Daryl said gently. "I didn't mean to scare ya earlier."

"You didn't. Well…I guess you kinda did. But it was only because you reminded me of my uncle when you said that." Nikki gasped and looked up at Daryl. It was too late though. She just pretty much told him that her uncle used to beat her. She looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say. She hoped Daryl would say something to break the awkwardness.

"I figured." Daryl said.

"What? But how?" Nikki questioned as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I saw those straps in the shed…" Daryl said. Nikki shivered.

"That's why I went there after our argument. It's where…I used to get…punished." Nikki looked down embarrassed.

"It's okay." Daryl soothed her. She laid her head on his shoulder and soon fell asleep. Daryl looked at her while she slept. Even though they only knew each other for a short time, Nikki really seemed to like Daryl and Daryl took a liking to her quite quickly as well. There was just something about her. Maybe she reminded him of someone too.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Five days had gone by since the previous incidents. Daryl was pretty much back to his right health again. Nikki hasn't had any of her strange moods, but she continued to "sleep cry" every night. Daryl assumed it was because of what she told him about her uncle; he didn't ask her though. Maybe he will one day. However, the two had grown closer over this short time. They had a good friendship going.

While eating lunch one afternoon, Nikki said to Daryl, "So, now that you're pretty much healed and all, would you want to go out with me?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at Nikki and said, "What?" His forkful of eggs paused in midair.

"Like out there…to you know, get things?" Nikki said innocently.

"You mean on a run?" Daryl exhaled.

"Yes." Nikki giggled.

Daryl was relieved. That was not what he thought she meant at first, but then he wondered what she needed to get. They had tons of supplies. "Why?" He asked.

"Well to get things, obviously." She smirked.

Daryl a little annoyed by her sarcasm said, "I know that, but we're not exactly _low_ on supplies yet."

"I am." Nikki looked nervous.

Daryl was still confused. "What do you mean?"

Nikki just looked up at him. How could he be so clueless? "I need…personal supplies."

Daryl squinted. "Like what?…Medicine? We're good on medical supplies."

Nikki suddenly lost her temper. "Daryl! I'm out of tampons!" She yelled it before she could stop herself. She immediately became embarrassed because of her outburst. She was about to apologize, but when she looked at Daryl, he looked more embarrassed than her. How could I be so stupid? He thought to himself. He kept forgetting that she's not a kid. He hoped she wasn't offended. Neither of them said anything for a while; they just continued eating in the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry." Nikki was the first to say it.

"No. My fault." Daryl put his hands up in front of him. " _I'm_ sorry."

"It's fine. Really." Nikki glanced at the clock. It was a little after one. "So, do you want to go?"

Daryl couldn't let her go alone, could he? "Uh, yeah. Sure. We can when you're done eating."

"Okay." Nikki smiled at him.

Daryl half grinned back at her. He was kind of anxious to see how she was out there. Of course he would never let her do something too dangerous, but he wanted to see if she could handle things. This should be interesting. He thought.

"We're taking the truck." Nikki said. She went around to the driver's side and opened the door, but Daryl closed it.

"I'll drive." He said. "Gimme the keys." He put his hand out and Nikki pulled her's away. "But you don't even know where we're going." Nikki whined.

"You can tell where to go." He stated.

Nikki wasn't okay with that. It's her truck, why can't she drive it?

"But-but it's easier if I just-"

"But nothin. _I'm_ driving. Now give me the keys." Daryl cut her off. He looked at her, waiting for her to say something else.

"Fine." Nikki pouted and handed the keys to Daryl.

The store that they are going to check out wasn't that far from the house. It was a pretty quiet car ride, except for Nikki giving Daryl directions every now and then. When they arrived, Nikki started walking away from the truck as soon as they parked.

"Hey, hold up. You wait fer me." Daryl said.

Nikki didn't say anything; she just continued walking. She started to walk around to the back of the store, but Daryl stopped her. "What are ya doin?" He said.

"We have to go in through the back." Nikki stated.

"Why?"

"That's just what I always do." Nikki snapped.

"We need to go in up front. We can look through the windows to see if we see anything."

She heard what Daryl said but she ignored him. She's been doing these things alone for a long time and she'll be damned if she's going to change her way of doing things just because Daryl thinks he knows better. He already took away her driving privilege, he's not going to take away her methods.

Nikki then knocked hard and loud on the door before opening it.

"Just checking for dead heads." She said without looking at Daryl.

"Yeah we could've done that up front too, that way we would've been able to see if any walkers were inside." He said.

"Dead heads." Nikki corrected him and opened the door. Daryl raised an eyebrow at her then said, "How bout lettin' me go first?" He put his arm in front of her. It was more of a statement than a question. Nikki huffed.

They checked the store making sure it was clear before they grabbed supplies. Nikki got a few things she needed and then filled her bag with things that were unnecessary. Daryl grabbed a few things that would come in handy as well. Suddenly, Nikki heard a noise that sounded like someone was bumping into a wall. She looked around and didn't see anything. She wandered over to the restrooms and realized that was where the noise was coming from. "Is someone there?" She asked. No one responded, but the noise continued. It must be a dead head, she thought. Just as she opened the door, Daryl was there because he heard her talking to someone. A walker came out of the bathroom and towards her, but she stabbed it in the head. Suddenly, two more walkers came out of the bathroom. Nikki's reflexes were quick; she kicked the first one making it hit into the other, both fell against the wall. She killed them both before Daryl even got close to her.

Wow. Daryl thought. She doesn't need my help. "Did you uh, get what ya needed?"

Nikki tucked her short hair behind her ear. "Yup. Did you?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just got a few things." He said. They both just stood there for a moment.

"Okay. Well, we can go then." Nikki said.

As they were putting their bags in the truck, Daryl said, "Hey," making Nikki turn around. "Here." He threw the keys at her and smirked. Nikki caught them and smiled real big. She hoped into the driver seat and started the truck.

As they were on their way home, Daryl thought to himself, this may be a good opportunity to convince Nikki to come back to Alexandria with him. He told her briefly about his home the other day and sooner or later the time was going to come when he left, and he didn't want to leave her behind.

"So, I was thinkin…I'm gonna have to go back to my home soon where my people are, and…you should come back with me."

Nikki glanced at Daryl and frowned. "I can't leave my farm, Daryl."

"Sure ya can. I'll help. We can take as much shit as ya want with us. We'll just load up the truck." Daryl stated.

"I don't think you understand." Nikki sighed. "I don't _want_ to leave my farm." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"I know, but we could really use your help back there." Daryl said. "I've seen what you can do. You're good with medical shit, and we really need a doctor."

Nikki's expression sadden. "But I mean…I've lived here my whole life and…I've put so much work into this place. It has sentimental value and I can't just… _leave."_

There was a brief silence, then Nikki blurted it out. "I don't want you to leave." She said it quietly and sad. Daryl didn't know what to say. He had to leave. He had to go back. He just had to, right? "I know what you're thinking. But please…I like you being here…a lot. I've been alone for so long and I don't want to be alone ever again. You made me realize how much I miss my friends." Tears welled up in her eyes and her lip started to quiver. Daryl cleared his throat. "…you don't have to be alone. If you would just come back with me…you'll see. We have people, good people, and you'll make tons of friends there." Daryl tried.

Nikki sniffed. "I just can't. You wouldn't understand." She turned her head as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Daryl sighed. This is going to be harder than he thought. There has to be a way that he can get through to her.

 **Hey guys! I want to hear your opinion! :O Should Nikki go back with Daryl? Should Daryl stay there with her or should he just leave regardless of what Nikki wants to do? Please review! I want to hear your thoughts! Come on, let me get at least three reviews for this story before I update! Thank you! ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Later on when Daryl and Nikki got back to the house, Nikki took her feminine products in the bathroom and put them under the sink. Then, went back to the sitting room where she left her bag, and dumped it out on the couch. There were things like, cooking utensils, air freshener, keychains, a pair of baby shoes, bleach, and a DVD. It was all…junk. Daryl couldn't help but notice the unnecessary items that Nikki brought back.

"Nicole?" Daryl said. "Why would you get those things?"

"You never know what you might need." She stated.

"What, like these?" He held up the baby shoes.

"Okay, maybe not those, but-"

"No. We don't need any of this. What would make you think to grab these things?"

Nikki shrugged. "You never know."

"Yeah I do. Next we go on a run, only get things that we _need."_ Daryl roughly said.

Nikki put her head down and walked down the stairs to put the bleach in the laundry room. She felt embarrassed. Daryl scolded her for being stupid, deep down, she knew that she probably wouldn't need those things, but for some reason, she just grabbed them and shoved them in her bag. She didn't like when people made her feel dumb. Daryl thought he heard Nikki sniffling, so he followed her. He was right. He made her cry. "Hey." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"I know. I just don't like when people make me feel stupid. I know I'm stupid, but I can't help it."

"No. You're not stupid." Daryl said trying to soothe her.

"Yes I am." Nikki sniffed. "I always have been."

"No you're not. You did good getting us to that store and back. And I was surprised at how fast you killed those walkers."

Nikki sniffed again. "Dead heads." Nikki corrected him.

Daryl snorted. "Comere." He put one arm around her neck and the other rubbed her back. Nikki wrapped her arms around Daryl. She like him a lot, but she wondered if Daryl felt the same way about her.

"What's that over there?" Daryl asked pointing to some bottles on the shelf.

Nikki looked up. "Oh that's just some bottles of champagne." She wiped the old tears off her face. "I don't know why I was saving them."

"Well, it's a good thing you did." Daryl stated.

Nikki looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Because now, we drink." Daryl said.

Nikki giggled and said, "Okay!" They grabbed the bottles and went back upstairs.

Nikki went to get two glasses from the kitchen, but Daryl stopped her and said he'd get them, and told her to sit down. He poured them each a nice glass.

They sat in the sitting room drinking and talking. After some time, their conversations became funnier. Soon after that, Nikki was laughing at everything.

"Baby shoes." Daryl shook his head. "What were thinking?"

Nikki was laughing so hard that she could barely speak. "I don't know! I just grabbed them!" They both laughed. "That's what I'm gonna start callin' ya, Baby shoes." They both laughed again. Their conversations got funnier and funnier as they got drunker. They were having a really fun time. Daryl thought it was especially strange for him, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Nikki was his friend and he cared for her. She had a great personality and wasn't all judgmental or anything. He could be real around her. He admired her innocent, naive way.

They finished three bottles already, and they were on the last one. Nikki put a random movie on in the background while they were drinking. Daryl just kept staring at her. He couldn't get the thought out of his head. When the time comes for him to leave…he can't leave Nikki. He just can't. He needs to find a way to make her come with him.

"Nikki."

"What?" She said.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her.

"What?" She giggled.

Daryl drank the rest of his champagne and saw that Nikki's glass was low, so he poured each of them another glass.

"Daryl, what?" She playfully pushed him.

Daryl sighed. Here goes nothing. He thought. "Don't get mad, but please…think about comin' back to Alexandria with me, huh?"

Anger suddenly started to build up inside her, and she was about to snap. However, Nikki thought of something. She grinned slyly as she thought about it.

"Let's make a bet." She smiled coolly.

"Oh yeah? And what's the bet?" Daryl said while drinking the rest of the champagne in his glass.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." She poked his chest when she said "you."

Daryl snorted. "Alright, I guess."

As the night went on, they finished the last bottle of champagne and talked some more. Nikki had put another movie on when the other was over. She paid more attention to this one, but Daryl couldn't get into it.

"You ain't gonna get sick are ya?" Daryl asked.

"I hope not." Nikki cringed.

"Is this your first time drinkin'."

"Hell no! I used to go to parties all the time in high school and drink! And with just my uncle around, I could pretty much do whatever I wanted. He was a drunk and was unaware of what was going on most of the time anyway." That explains why she didn't like being told what to do.

Daryl looked down at his hands. "Was it always just you and your uncle?"

"Pretty much." Nikki shrugged. "My mom died when I was nine, and I never knew my dad. Mom says he ran off when I was one."

"Sorry." Daryl said. "My mom died when I was a kid too."

Nikki looked over at him. "It sucks."

They both shared a look.

Nikki continued, "I got to see her a lot though because she worked at the school."

Daryl looked puzzled. Nikki started to say something else but Daryl cut her off. "I thought you said your mom was a nurse?"

Nikki became nervous and said, "Yeah, she…was…uh…the nurse at the school!"

"Oh okay." Daryl shrugged.

"Anyway." Nikki began again. "After my mom died, my uncle moved in to take care of me, but he was a dick."

"I know how it feels." Daryl quietly said.

"What?" Nikki looked at him wide eyed.

Daryl paused for a minute before saying, "My dad, he was a dick too." He sighed.

Nikki was shocked. She couldn't believe it! She was happy to hear him say that, well not happy, but she was relieved that someone understood. She got up and quickly made her way over to Daryl. She sat down on his lap and hugged him tightly around the neck. Daryl was taken by surprise. He was not expecting that. Nikki buried her face in his neck and cried. Daryl slowly put his arms around her and hushed her.

"It's okay." He said.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"It's alright. There's nothin' to be sorry about."

"Its just that…all this time…I just wanted someone to understand."

Daryl nodded his head. "I know."

Nikki feel asleep like that. Daryl didn't know if he should wake her up and tell her to go to bed or not. He didn't know what to do so he just let her sleep on him for a little longer. Daryl eventually decided to not wake her up, and so he carried her into her room and put her to bed.

"Daryl?" Nikki said.

"Yeah, it's just me, it's okay." He assured her.

"Come here." She said. He leaned to closer to her to see what she wanted.

Nikki reached up and hugged him. She then, taking Daryl by surprise, kissed his temple. He looked at her and she giggled. He gave her a teasing, annoyed grin.

"Goodnight, Daryl." He heard her say as he was walking away.

"Yeah, goodnight, Baby Shoes." Daryl said.

 **Hope you liked this one! Anxious to find out about Nikki's bet? You should be! Hehe. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"You sure about this?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I've done it before. Just give me a boost." Said Nikki. Daryl lifted Nikki up as she crawled into the vent. The power had gone out, and Nikki had to crawl through the vent and reset it. "You okay?" Daryl asked when he couldn't see or hear her anymore.

"Yeah, I'm almost there." She said. Nikki reached her destination and quickly grabbed the lever and turned it back on. Daryl looked around as the power came back on. He checked a few things to make sure they were still working.

"We're good!" He yelled to her.

"Yeah, I know."

Daryl jumped at Nikki behind him.

"How did you…I didn't even see you come out."

"I went out the door in there." Nikki giggled.

"If there's a door, then why the hell do ya crawl through the vent?"

Nikki shrugged. "It's more fun that way." She smiled up at Daryl.

He was about to say something, but instead just shook his head.

Later that day, Daryl was in the shed working on his bike when Nikki approached him. "I want to show you something." Nikki said. She got all…giddy.

"What?" Daryl asked.

"There's somewhere we have to go and I was thinking maybe we could take your bike."

"Are we goin' on a run?" Daryl asked casually.

"Not exactly."

"Well, where we goin'?"

"You'll see!"

They two took off on Nikki's quest. She told Daryl where to go; it wasn't far from the house. They went down a long road and across a bridge to a lake.

"Okay! We're here!" Nikki yelled excitedly. Daryl pulled over down by the trees and parked his bike. "What are we doin' here?" He asked.

"You'll see! Just follow me!" Nikki said and gestured with her hand. As they were walking down to the lake, a walker came out of the woods. Even though Nikki was ahead, Daryl said, "I got it," and killed it. Nikki led Daryl over to the dock where two jet skies rested. They had been there since the start of the apocalypse and no one touched them, so Nikki claimed them as hers.

"Ready to have some fun?" Nikki said and grinned.

Daryl was confounded. "This is why you brought us here?"

"Yes! And technically, you brought us here."

"Nikki…"

"Come on! Have some fun for once!" She pulled one of them closer to the edge. "Here you can have the bigger one."

Daryl took his eyes away from Nikki to the jet ski and then back at her.

"You know you want to." She teased.

Daryl sighed. "Fine. But only fer a few minutes."

They both got on the jet skies and rode around that small area, not going too far passed the dock. Nikki was smiling the whole time and having a good old time. Daryl was too, even if he wouldn't admit it. Shortly after, Nikki pulled up next to Daryl and said, "So, now that you got the hang of it, wanna race?"

"Nah, we should be gettin' back. It's startin' to get dark." Daryl turned his jet ski around and headed back to the dock, but Nikki drove in front of him making him stop.

"What do ya think you're doin'?" He yelled.

"Nope. We're not going anywhere until we race." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, you haven't even heard my idea yet."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Daryl asked. He was beginning to feel annoyed.

"Well, remember last night when I told you, let's make a bet?"

Daryl gave her a weird look. He was starting to realize what she was getting at.

"Yeah." He said.

"Well, this is it! We're gonna race and if you win, then I'll go back to that place with you."

Daryl blinked. "What if you win?" Daryl asked.

"Then you'll stay here with me." She stated.

Daryl thought for a minute.

"I'on know." He shrugged.

"Why? Are you scared?" Nikki joked.

"Scared? Of a lil thang like you?" Daryl snorted.

"Well then race me."

Daryl thought again. It was risky, but…he quickly shook that thought. Like Nikki could beat him. He's been riding bikes for so long! He can do this.

"Alright. Let's do it." He finally said.

Nikki squinted at him. "Wait a minute, I don't believe you. Let's shake on it." She said. Daryl obliged and they shook hands. "We'll race down to the end over there and back."

"May the best man win." Nikki said. She was really enthusiastic about this.

They both lined up next to each other and got into their ready positions.

Nikki said, "On your mark…get set…GO!"

They were off. They started out right along side each other, but then Nikki went ahead. Daryl wasn't far behind though. They stayed this way for a while. Nikki was the first to reach the edge, but when she turned around she swerved so she wouldn't hit the big rock sticking out of the lake. Daryl was in the lead now. "Oh shit! Nikki yelled. Daryl just kept facing forward. Suddenly, Nikki was there next to him and she hit in to him from the side. "What the hell are ya doin'?" He yelled.

"Sorry, but I wanna win!" She did it again.

"You can't do that!" Daryl yelled.

"Who says I can't? I made up the rules, and there are none!" She laughed.

Daryl gave her a dirty look, but decided to play along. He hit into her. She hit into him. It went back and forth like that for a while when finally, Daryl hit Nikki so hard she almost fell off her jet ski. "OW!" She screamed and slowed down to a halt. Daryl's expression quickly turned to concern and he stopped as well. "Are you alright?" Daryl asked worried. Nikki kept her head down and whimpered. Daryl got closer to her and put his hand on her back. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt ya." He said. Nikki put her head up and quickly started her jet ski. "Just kidding!" She yelled and took off. Daryl sat there dumbfounded and then realized what just happened. He took off quickly in the direction Nikki was headed. They were getting closer to the dock. Daryl caught up to Nikki and they were right along side each other again. Both had determined looks on their faces. Suddenly, Nikki put her foot down as hard as she could making her jet ski roar and speed passed Daryl. Daryl was shocked as he watched Nikki make it to the dock. She won.

Nikki screamed getting off her jet ski and onto the dock where she jumped up and down. "I won! I won! I won! Haha!" She stuck her tongue out at Daryl and laughed. Daryl just narrowed his eyes at her. He couldn't believe he lost. Then, it hit him. He lost the bet!

"How's it feel to lose?" Nikki belittled him.

"Yeah, yeah. It was just a race." Daryl said.

"Yeah, but I won! So that means you have to stay with me!"

"Hmmm." Was all Daryl said.

"Hey, you promised!" Nikki yelled.

"…"

"I won fair and square and…we shook hands!"

"Yeah I know!" Daryl yelled.

"So…you're staying now." Nikki stated.

Daryl sighed. "Yeah. I guess I am." He half grinned at her.

Nikki smiled real big and said, "Come on, let's go for a swim!" She took her hoodie off and threw it on the dock. It was the first time he saw her without a big sweatshirt on. She was really thin, but she had pretty big boobs. Daryl tried not to look at them. He just realized what she said and shook his head.

"Are ya crazy? It's too cold to swim." Daryl stated.

"Says who?" Nikki said while taking off her boots.

"Me." Daryl firmly said.

Nikki snorted and said, "Well I'm going swimming!" She then jumped into the lake before Daryl could stop her. "Come on in! The water's fine!" She said. Daryl was so surprised by her all the time. Nikki was so unpredictable that he had to just laugh or shake his head or something. This girl constantly ceased to amaze him.

"Please swim with me!" Nikki whined.

"Nah, I don't want to."

Nikki looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. "Please."

Daryl sighed. "Fine. But only for a minute!"

Nikki laughed at him while he was taking off his shoes. After he took his jacket and shirt off, he got in. Nikki giggled and said, "See it's not too bad."

"Whatever." Daryl said.

Nikki splashed him.

He gave her a serious look and said, "Don't."

So, of course, Nikki splashed him again.

"What I just say?" He said roughly.

Nikki rolled her eyes at him and put her head back.

"Don't ya roll 'em eyes at me, girl."

Nikki giggled. "You're so bossy." She splashed him again.

"Splash me one more time and I'll-" Daryl was cut off by Nikki splashing him in the face again. Nikki just laughed at him. He gave her another serious look and said, "You're gonna get it." Nikki stopped for a moment because she thought she made Daryl really mad, but suddenly, he splashed her right back. Nikki laughed and screamed.

Back at the house, Nikki threw her wet clothes in the dryer. She was in her robe ready to take a bath.

"I'll be right back." She said to Daryl.

She came back shortly with some clothes. "Here, these were my uncle's. They should fit you." She had a strange look on her face.

"Thanks." Daryl mumbled and quickly got changed in the other room.

"Give me your clothes so I can put them in the dryer." Nikki stated.

Daryl awkwardly handed Nikki his wet clothes.

Nikki came back upstairs after putting their clothes in the dryer. She smiled at Daryl and said, "I'm gonna go take a bath." She went into the bedroom and closed the door.

Daryl sat on the couch with a bag of chips. He wondered if he could really stay here and just forget about his people back at Alexandria. He guessed he had to though; he made a promise to Nikki and he couldn't break it. He finished the chips, wrinkled the bag up and threw it aside. Then, he put his hands behind his head and tried to relax. He started thinking about Rick and Carol. He thought about Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Carl, Lil Asskicker, and everyone. He missed them, especially Carol. Could he really just forget about all of them? What would they think if they knew? He couldn't possibly just stay here without at least letting everyone know he's okay, could he? Daryl sighed. He didn't know what he was going to do.

Suddenly, he heard something. He realized that it was coming from the bedroom. Whatever it was, it sounded kind of…nice. He got up and went over to the door. It was Nikki. She was…singing. She sounded so amazing. He cracked the door open a little. Her voice was beautiful. Daryl thought. He stayed there and just listened to her sing. He never heard a singing voice as beautiful as her's before. Suddenly, Daryl knew why he got along with Nikki so well and so fast. She reminded him of Beth. That was…okay with him. Daryl thought for a moment. Maybe he could stay here.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It's been a little over a week since Nikki and Daryl's bet. The two were getting along just fine. They went on runs, worked on the farm, and spent most of their time together. Their friendship was getting stronger. One evening, Nikki talked Daryl into playing a questions game.

"It's this game my friends and I used to play all the time."

"Well, how do you play?" Daryl asked.

"It's so easy, all you do is ask each other random questions." Nikki said seriously.

"What's the point of that?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow.

"So, we can get to know each other better." Nikki said. "Come on, it'll be fun!" Nikki grabbed Daryl's arm and made him sit on the couch across from her.

"I'll start." Said Nikki. She thought for a minute before asking, "Here's an easy one, what's your last name?" She giggled.

"Dixon." Daryl said roughly.

"Daryl Dixon." Nikki smiled. "I like that. It fits you." She teased. "You're turn!"

Daryl thought for a moment and chewed on his nail. "I can't think of anything."

"What do you mean? Ask me anything!" Nikki whined.

"Well…what's…your last name?" Daryl lamely asked.

"It can't be the same question, but I'll let it go since this is only round one." Nikki stated. "And my last name is Curtis." She admitted and smiled. "So, are you like from around here?"

"No. My group and I were from Atlanta."

"Whoa! You guys came a long way!" Nikki's expression saddened all of a sudden. "You must have been through a lot together."

"Yeah." Daryl admitted and looked away. Nikki frowned. "It's your turn." She said breaking the silence.

"Hmm…I don't know. What's your favorite color?" Daryl didn't know what to say, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Nikki gave him a weird look.

"Blue. Come on, you can do better than that." She laughed. "Did you have any siblings?"

Daryl looked at her for a few seconds before answering her question. "Yeah, I had an older brother. Merle." Daryl looked uncomfortable. Nikki noticed she made another mistake. "It's your turn again." She said too quickly.

Daryl looked down in thought. "What's, uh…something you're good at?"

Nikki smiled. "I'm actually good at a lot of things, not to brag or anything! But I'm really good at riding my skateboard!" She said proudly. "I have a good one!" She looked at Daryl right in the eyes and smirked. "What is it that you like best about me?" She was excited to hear his response.

Daryl just looked at her unsure of what to say. He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Well." He started. "I like that…you're cheerful even though the world's gone to shit. I like that you're very nice." He paused for a minute. "I like your honesty the best, I guess." He finally said.

Nikki snickered. "What?"

"I just mean, how honest ya are. We haven't known each other that long, but yer very open and honest about things. Yer very…upfront."

Nikki was a little surprised. "Oh." She said. Thanks." She tried not to let on her disappointment and gave a little smile. She sort of looked around nervously and then started to feel guilty. It was Daryl's turn to ask Nikki a question. Since she wanted to ask him personal questions, he decided to ask her one.

"Ya said your mom died before all this?"

Nikki, deep in thought, didn't hear what he said. "Nikki." Daryl said making Nikki come out of her reverie.

"Huh?" She said.

"Ya said your mom died before the turn, right?" Daryl repeated.

"Oh, yeah." Nikki said.

"If ya don't mind my askin', what happened?"

Nikki just stared at Daryl for what seemed like forever. She didn't want to talk about it; she always hated telling people about what happened to her mom. She looked down and nervously bit her lip. Daryl noticed how uncomfortable she became and said, "I'm sorry. Ya don't have to answer that."

"No. It's fine." She said without making eye contact with Daryl. Nikki took a deep breath. "She, uh…um…she killed yourself." My mom committed suicide." Nikki sighed and looked at her hands. Daryl was shocked and embarrassed for asking that question. What was he thinking? He didn't know what to say.

"Nikki…I'm real sorry. I-" He was going to say something else, but decided not to.

Nikki still looking down said, "It's okay. It's just that she was…ill. She had a mental illness." Nikki said nervously.

Great. Daryl thought. He could have kicked himself. "I shouldn't have asked ya that. I'm sorry, Baby Shoes."

"No really, it's fine." Nikki shook her head and gave Daryl a sad smile. There was an awkward silence; neither really knew what to say. So, Daryl broke the silence by saying, "It's your turn to ask a question." He felt so stupid.

Nikki finally looked up at him and nervously tapped her fingers. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She looked outside and saw that it was now dark. "Um, yeah the thing is…um, I…I don't wanna play anymore." She quickly got up and went outside. Shit. Daryl thought.

It's been about thirty minutes since Nikki stormed out. Daryl thought he would give her a little space before he went out to see if she was alright. He walked out the door and around to the front of the house. Nikki was sitting on the steps of the farmhouse looking up at the sky. She looked so lost and depressed.

"Nikki." He called. She didn't answer, so he walked over to where she was. "Hey, are ya alright? Ya okay, Baby Shoes?"

Nikki swallowed. "Yeah, I'm fine." Daryl knew she wasn't though.

"What are ya doin'?" He asked.

Just looking at the stars." She sadly replied.

He nervously scratched his chin and slowly sat down. "Listen, Nikki, I'm really sorry about what happened in there. I shouldn't have asked ya a question like that. I didn't mean to upset ya."

Nikki sighed. She couldn't let Daryl feel guilty like that. I mean…the game was her idea in the first place. She shook her head.

"Daryl, it wasn't your fault. Don't feel bad."

"Well, I do. I don't even know why I asked a question like that." He said.

Nikki suddenly got angry. "Oh, Daryl!" She stood up quickly taking Daryl by surprise. "It's not that! I'm upset about what you said earlier!"

He just stared at her dumbfounded.

"You said you liked that I was honest!"

Daryl shrugged. "Yeah I do."

"Well, I'm not! I'm not honest!"

Daryl was so confused. "What are ya talkin' about, Baby Shoes? Of course ya are."

"No, I'm not! Nikki sighed and tried to calm down a little. "I've been lying to you, Daryl." She turned away and wrapped her arms around herself.

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are ya talkin' about?"

Nikki sighed again and turned back around to face him. She's afraid that he'll hate her.

"My mom wasn't really a nurse. She didn't teach me any of that stuff. I just did what I saw on TV. I didn't think that you'd actually wake up, but I hoped." She looked at him wide eyed. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just saw you laying there dying and…I guess, I just wanted a friend." The tears started falling down her cheeks.

"Well, ya got one." Daryl said.

"No!" Nikki yelled and looked him right in the eyes. "I was wrong to keep you here. I can't keep you away from those people that you've been with for so long." Nikki sniffed.

"I just didn't want to be alone anymore."

"Ya don't have to be. I'm here now." Daryl said gently.

"No, Daryl. You have to go. You can't stay here anymore."

Now it was Daryl's turn to get angry. "Now wait just a minute! First, I wanted to leave and ya wanted me to stay, so I did. I tried to convince ya to come back with me, and ya wouldn't. So, we make some dumb bet and I lose, and honestly I still didn't wanna stay even after I knew I had to, but I did. And now I want to, and yer ass is tellin' me to leave! What the hell do ya want from me?"

"Nothing now. I think you should be with your people." Nikki stated.

Daryl was furious. "I don't understand ya at all!" He yelled.

"Look, I'm just trying to do the right thing here." Nikki was calm, which made Daryl even angrier. "The right thing?" Daryl mocked her. "You'd know all about that! What else have you been lying about? Did yer uncle really beat you or did you just make that up to get attention from people?"

That hit Nikki hard. She couldn't even cry because of how shocked she was. She shook her head. "You're the only one I ever told about that." She looked up at the night sky and sniffed. "I can't do this. I can't pretend anymore." She ran inside.

Daryl stayed outside and calmed down a little. He went back inside a few minutes later. Nikki was laying on her bed crying. Even though he was annoyed with her, he tried to comfort her. "Come on, Nikki. Let's just try to forget all of this and start over."

"No." Abby sobbed into her pillow. "You have to get out of here, Daryl. I mean it."

Daryl couldn't believe her. After all the trouble, after he accepted that he was going to stay here with her because she really wanted him to, she wants him to leave now.

"You really want me to leave?" He said disbelievingly.

Nikki looked up from her pillow at him. "No! I don't _want_ you to, but you have to." She sniffed.

"Answer my question!" Daryl said roughly. "Do you want me to leave or not?"

Nikki thought for a minute. Of course she didn't want him to leave, but she felt bad about keeping him away from his people. From his home. So she decided to do the right thing. "Yes." She said it almost too quietly. Daryl stomped out of the room and slammed her door.

Daryl decided to leave first thing in the morning. Neither one of them got much sleep that night. It didn't take him long to gather up his things. Nikki watched him; she just stood there. She couldn't help but think she was making a mistake, but she couldn't make him stay anymore. "Alright. I'm leavin'." Daryl causally said.

"Do you have everything?" Nikki asked.

"Yeah." Was all he said.

Daryl got his bike out of the shed and started it up. Nikki watched him.

"Alright, well…see ya, I guess." Daryl said. He started to leave.

"Wait!" Nikki yelled.

Daryl turned off his bike and waited to see what she wanted.

"Just wait one minute. I'll be right back." Nikki went inside and came back about two minutes later.

"Here." She handed him the baby shoes that he yelled at her for getting on the run that day. He just stared at them. "Please just take them. I know it's stupid, but it's so you have something to remember me by."

Daryl hesitantly took them and gave them a squeeze before putting them into his bag. They both shared a look. They wanted to just say it, but they couldn't. They knew that this was for the best.

Nikki said, "I'm so sorry, Daryl, I'm really so so sorry." She sobbed and ran back inside.

Daryl wanted to go after her, but instead started up his bike and took off before he changed his mind. Nikki watched out the window as Daryl left. She watched until she couldn't see him anymore. She collapsed onto the couch and sobbed uncontrollably.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A few days had gone by since Daryl left. Nikki moped around not really doing anything. She didn't eat, tend to her farm, or anything. She knew she had things to do, but she just couldn't get herself to do them; she just didn't feel right.

Nikki lay on the couch watching a movie, she wasn't really watching it though. She couldn't get into it even though she loves this one. She was lost in thought.

Suddenly, Nikki was jolted awake by an explosion outside. She immediately got up and ran outside, only to find that her cornfield, barn and shed were on fire.

"No! My farm!" She screamed with her hands on both sides of her head and looked around in disbelief. She then heard something behind her, but when she turned someone hit her over the head and knocked her out.

Nikki awoke several hours later in a daze. It took her awhile to realize that she was in the storage room. She got up and tried opening the door, but it was locked.

"Hey! Who the fuck is in my house?" She yelled through the door. Nikki heard footsteps coming down the stairs shortly after. She braced herself. The door opened and three men walked in.

"Wow. You're alive. I almost thought I killed you with how hard I hit you." The first man said.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" Nikki said angrily.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Buttercup. Is that how you treat your guests?" The first man laughed.

Nikki glared at him and said, "What. Do. You. Want?"

"What we want," Guy number three said, "is this place." He was a big guy.

"If you want it then why did you destroy it?" Nikki yelled.

"We don't need that stuff. Plus we got you." Guy number one said. "By the way, my name's, Dave. This John and Tim." He pointed at the other men in the room.

"I don't give a shit who you are! Get the hell out of here!" Nikki yelled.

"Just chill out, _Nikki."_ John grinned.

Nikki was a little surprised. "How do you know my name?"

"We've been watching you. Waiting for the right moment. Now that that redneck loser is gone, it made it ten times easier." Dave said.

"Don't talk about him like that!"

"Take it easy, Darling." Dave teased. "So are you ready to hear the plan now?"

Nikki, angry as ever, said, "What plan?"

Alright, so…this is our place now and you're going to work for us."

"What?" Nikki said.

"That's right. And if behave yourself and be a good girl then we won't kill you…or worse." Dave said.

"I won't do anything for you!" Nikki screamed at the men.

"You're off to a pretty bad start already." Tim said walking toward her. "We gonna teach this girl a lesson or what?"

Dave put his hand up and said, "Now wait a minute. She's new at this so let's give her the benefit of the doubt."

"I really wanna piece of that ass." Tim said.

Nikki just glared at the men.

"Tim, just go upstairs and wait with Kyle and Pat." Dave said and Tim walked out of the room making vulgar gestures toward Nikki.

"How many of you are there?" Nikki asked.

Dave laughed before saying, "Too many for you to handle that's for sure."

"Answer me!" Nikki demanded.

Dave got real serious and said, "Five. There's five of us. Now why don't you just relax for now. You're gonna be doing a lot of work very soon."

They both laughed and Nikki continued to glare at them until they left the room locking the door. She sighed and realized just how screwed she really was. She wished Daryl would come back and help her.

A few hours later, Dave came back into the storage room; Nikki was on her feet immediately.

"Here's what's gonna happen, I'm taking you upstairs and you're gonna make us dinner. Don't try anything stupid." He said.

Nikki didn't have a choice. She had to oblige.

Nikki was in the kitchen making food for the idiot men when one of them came from behind her and grabbed her butt. She turned around immediately and slapped him in the face. "You shouldn't have done that." He stated. He punched Nikki real hard in the face, making her fall to the floor and whimper. The man laughed and gave her a kick to the side. Nikki yelled out in pain.

"Enough!" Dave yelled. He lifted Nikki up onto her feet. "See what happens. I told you." He let her go. Nikki lost her balance and fell to the floor again.

"Get up! You haven't finished yet!" Dave nudged her with his foot.

Later that night, Nikki lay on the floor of the storage room and sobbed. She was in pain from getting beat all day. She just kept messing up and each one of the men would take turns beating her up. She didn't know what to do anymore. There wasn't really anything she could do. She had to get out of there before they raped her or killed her or both. She knew it was only a matter of time before that happened.

"Daryl." Nikki started. "Please, come back. I'm sorry, Daryl. Please! I need you!" She sobbed. Nikki looked up at the ceiling and something suddenly caught her eye. The vent! If she could crawl through then she could get out! Nikki reached up and ripped the vent door off; she very slowly and painfully pulled herself up and into the vent. She wiggled her way through being as quiet as possible. She ended up in the bedroom. Nikki looked out and saw Dave sound asleep in her bed. She slowly and quietly got down. She glanced at Dave to make sure he was still sleeping. The door was ajar so she looked out to see the others; they were all sleeping. Nikki walked over to Dave and noticed his gun and knife on the table. She picked them up. _Should I kill them or just run?_ She thought. At first, she just wanted to run, but then she thought about how they treated her and they couldn't get away with that. She raised the knife above his head. She didn't know if she would be strong enough to, but she stabbed him in the head as hard as she could. Dave was dead, and he didn't even know.

Nikki tiptoed out of the room. She saw John on the couch and decided that he was next. She did him just like she did Dave. Two down, three to go. She walked over to the guy that grabbed her bottom and stabbed him in the head as well. Suddenly, Nikki heard a voice say, "What the hell? Kyle wake up!" She looked up and saw the guy (Kyle) right next to her wake up. She quickly grabbed her gun and shot him in the face before he had time to do anything. She accidentally dropped her gun though. Tim was the last one left and he was the big guy. Nikki quickly ran down the stairs and Tim chased after her. She ran into the laundry room, but was now cornered.

"Whatcha gonna do now, huh?" Tim taunted her.

Nikki thought for a minute and looked around at her surroundings. _What am I going to do?_ She thought. Tim started toward her. Suddenly, she noticed the bottle of bleach next her foot. She quickly grabbed it and splashed it in Tim's face. He screamed not being able to see. Nikki stabbed him in his stomach several times before running passed him back upstairs. She grabbed a gun and waited for Tim to come after her. She saw him at the bottom of the stairs still struggling to see. She decided to just end this; she shot him in the head and watched his lifeless body hit the floor.

Nikki walked outside and looked out at her farm. It was destroyed and so was her house. She sat down on the steps and thought about what to do. She had to make a plan soon because the dead heads started coming…

 **Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! :D I bet you weren't expecting any of that! Lol This chapter focused on Nikki so the next one will start with Daryl. The next chapter will be the last for this story though. Just giving everyone a heads up. I hoped you enjoyed this! What do you think Nikki is going to do now? Please review and tell me what you think! ^_^**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Back at Alexandria**

Daryl was outside his house working on his bike. Ever since he got back, he busied himself with doing something productive. He barely talked to anyone; something was bothering him and he didn't know how to deal with it. He reached into his side bag on his motorcycle and pulled out the little pair of baby shoes that Nikki gave him before he left. Daryl looked around to make sure no one was watching then he squeezed them and held them close to him. He wished things would have went differently. He didn't understand why Nikki didn't just come back with him, but he quickly shook that thought because that's not what happened and there's not really anything he can do about it now. Well, he could go back for her, but no he just has to let it go even though he missed her…a lot.

It's now been almost a week since Daryl got back and he figured maybe he should do something with the shoes; it's better than them just sitting in his bag. Just then, Daryl saw Rick coming out of the house and called to him.

"Hey, Rick!" Rick walked over to where Daryl was.

"Ya think these will fit Lil Asskicker?" Daryl asked.

Rick took the shoes from Daryl. "Yeah, I think they will. Thanks." Rick said.

Daryl nodded and started to walk away but Rick stopped him. "Daryl…" Rick started. "Are you alright? You've been…different ever since you came back."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Daryl roughly said.

Rick stared at Daryl. "Did something happen while you were away?"

Daryl thought for a moment before answering. "Nah."

Rick just nodded his head. "Okay. Well…I'm glad you're back with us."

"Yeah." Was all Daryl said.

Later that night, Daryl was in bed having a hard time trying to sleep. Once he finally fell asleep, he was awakened after having a bad dream. Daryl sat up in bed and ran his hand through his hair. He just looked straight ahead and sighed. He decided to go outside for a smoke since he couldn't sleep.

He sat out on the steps; it reminded him of the night Nikki and him looked at the stars, but that nice moment ended in them arguing and then him leaving. Daryl sighed and shook his head, _Damn! Why can't I just forgot about her? She didn't want to come, you tried but she didn't want to! That was her loss so why can't I just stop?!_ Daryl thought to himself.

"Can't sleep?"

Daryl turned and saw Carol standing in the street next to him.

"Nah. You?"

"Nope. So what are you thinking about?" Carol asked while sitting down next to him.

"Nothin."

"Come on, you looked completely out of it just then."

"I don't wanna talk about it." Daryl said.

Carol frowned. "You know…you don't have to keep it to yourself. You shouldn't. I know something happened while you were gone."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't take care of that wound yourself. So what happened. Did you find someone?"

Daryl put his head down. "Nah, someone found me."

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Carol asked.

"No. The exact opposite."

"What does that mean?" Carol asked puzzled.

Daryl sighed. "I was with this…girl. Her name was Nikki." He looked at Carol. "She took care of me. She was real nice and sweet. Reminded me a lot of Beth." Daryl nodded and a short laugh escaped from his mouth.

There was a brief silence. Carol said, "is she…is she dead?"

"No." Daryl shook his head. "She's still out there." He said taking a puff of his cigarette.

Carol looked confused. "Why?"

"She wouldn't come back with me. Said she didn't wanna leave her farm."

"And you let her?" Carol asked still confused.

Daryl looked at Carol. "What?"

"It just seems unlike you."

"What was I supposed to do? She didn't wanna come. We even had an argument."

"I'm just saying, it's strange. Seems like you became close and just…left her behind." Carol stated.

"I ain't her daddy. She did what she wanted." Daryl said roughly.

"So there wasn't anything you could do about it?"

"No. There wasn't." Daryl said and took another drag.

"Alright then. Why are you still worrying about it?"

Daryl was taken aback.

"Hmm." Carol pushed his hair back and smiled at him. She stood up and said, "try to get some sleep," before walking away.

Daryl sat there thinking about what Carol said. He knew she was right. He tried to get Nikki to come back with him. He tried several times and she wouldn't change her mind so that's her problem. She can take care of herself. He needed to get over himself and move on. There's things to be done and people to protect. He doesn't have time to be moping around.

Daryl put out his cigarette and went back inside and to bed. He slept better that night now that he feels better about Nikki.

The next day, Daryl was in good spirits. He felt better now that he got a good nights sleep. He ate a good meal and talked more to people. He even made small talk with some of the residents that he never really talks to. Things were going to get better now…

A few days had gone by and Daryl was now back to his normal self. Nikki hadn't crossed his mind once; it was almost as if they never even met. She was just another memory.

Daryl was outside getting ready to leave on a run, when he heard a commotion at the gate. A few of the people there were yelling about something. He started walking towards them to see what all the fuss was about.

Suddenly, one of the residents yelled to Daryl.

"Hey, Daryl! You're gonna wanna see this." Daryl made his way over to him. "There's someone here that claims that they know you."

Daryl was confused. They opened the gate for him to see. Nikki stood at the gate dirty and bloody. She was bruised and had cuts all over here, her clothes were ripped and she was breathing heavy. Daryl's eyes widened; if they were any wider they might pop out of his head. He ran to her.

"Nikki?" He yelled.

Nikki looked up at him still breathing heavily. "Daryl…I thought…I'd never find you."

Suddenly, everything started to spin and Nikki collapsed into Daryl's arms. He picked her up and started running back inside.

"Move! Get outta my way!" He yelled as he carried her to the infirmary. He went inside and laid her on the bed. Rosita had followed him from the gate.

"Let me help." She said. She hooked Nikki up to an IV while Daryl got a rag and wet it and started to wipe some of the blood off her face.

They fixed her injuries as best they could. The only thing they could do now is wait.

Daryl stayed close by her. "Come on, Baby Shoes. Please be okay." He pleaded.

Later that day, Daryl stayed with Nikki all day. He never left her side. He was just thinking that he almost completely forgot about her. He was ready to let her go, and now here she is. She walked back into his life; hopefully…hopefully she'll be alright.

Just then, Nikki started to stir. Daryl looked up wide eyed.

"Nikki?" He said.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah, it's me Baby Shoes. It's me, I'm here."

"Daryl," She smiled that smile at him, "I thought I'd never find you."

Daryl had this relieved feeling inside. It was then that he realized how much he missed that smile.

He handed Nikki some water and she drank it down.

"Nikki, what happened?"

Nikki sniffed and started to cry. "These guys attacked me and destroyed my farm."

"What guys?" Daryl said roughly.

"I don't know. They were horrible. They wanted to live there and they wanted me to be their slave. They beat the crap out of me, and locked me in the storage room."

"How'd ya get away?" Daryl asked.

"I crawled through the vent and killed everyone." Nikki giggled.

Daryl shook his head. "You and that vent."

Nikki's smile faded.

"I left after that. It took me forever to find this place. I thought I never would." She started to cry again.

"Hey hey, you did." Daryl assured her.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Daryl, I'm sorry about what happened. I really am."

"Don't. Just don't. You're here now and none of that matters anymore. We can start over."

Nikki sniffed and smiled.

They were reunited again and very happy about it. Nikki was here to stay, and they would never get split up again.

 **The End**

 **Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate it! So what do you guys think? I hope you liked it! I was thinking about maybe writing a part 2? Please review and tell me what you think! :D**


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